Critic’s Picks (May 18 – 24)
“We live in an extraordinary Age” – Carl Sagan. Recent events have demonstrated this in no uncertain terms. A tiny previously unknown microbe, COVID-19, has shut down our musical life, hopefully only temporarily. Many opera companies and music organizations are offering video streaming services during the hiatus. This week, we feature the Met, Vienna State Opera, Dutch National Opera, plus several individual artists. Now you can enjoy wonderful performances in the privacy of your own home — for free!
Monday 18
Metropolitan Opera | Mozart’s Idomeneo — 7:30 p.m. (ET). Nadine Sierra, Elza van den Heever, Alice Coote, and Matthew Polenzani, conducted by James Levine. From March 25, 2017. Available for 23 hours | Details
Vienna State Opera | Wagner’s Götterdämmerung. Stefan Vinke (Siegfried), Petra Lang (Brünnhilde), Regine Hangler (Gutrune), Falk Struckmann (Hagen), Marcus Eiche (Gunther), Jochen Schmeckenbecher (Alberich), Waltraud Meier (Waltraute) Conducted by Peter Schneider. Performance of June 5, 2017. Available for 72 hours (free registration required) | Details
Tuesday 19
Metropolitan Opera | Wagner’s Lohengrin — 7:30 p.m. (ET). Eva Marton, Leonie Rysanek, Peter Hofmann, Leif Roar, and John Macurdy, conducted by James Levine. From January 10, 1986. Available for 23 hours | Details
Vienna State Opera | Weber’s Der Freischütz. Adrian Eröd (Ottokar), Camilla Nylund (Agathe), Daniela Fally (Ännchen), Alan Held (Caspar), Andreas Schager (Max), Hans Peter Kammerer (Samiel). Conducted by Tomáš Netopil. Performance of June 14, 2018. Available for 72 hours (free registration required) | Details
Wednesday 20
Metropolitan Opera | Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera — 7:30 p.m. (ET). Sondra Radvanovsky, Kathleen Kim, Stephanie Blythe, Marcelo Álvarez, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Fabio Luisi. From December 8, 2012. Available for 23 hours | Details
Opera Atelier | Together/Apart — 8:00 p.m. (ET) Opera Atelier is live streaming 14 artists including Measha Brueggergosman, Angela Hewitt, Wallis Giunta, Laird Mackintosh and others, with a special guests appearance by Toronto Mayor John Tory. | Details
Koerner Hall | Barbara Hannigan & Reinbert de Leeuw — 4:00 p.m. (ET). Program includes Berg, Schoenberg, Webern, Zemlinsky, Mahler and Wolf, originally from Nov. 10, 2017. | Details
Thursday 21
Metropolitan Opera | Puccini’s Turandot — 7:30 p.m. (ET). Christine Goerke, Eleonora Buratto, Yusif Eyvazov, and James Morris, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. From October 12, 2019. Available for 23 hours | Details
Vienna State Opera | Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Ludovic Tézier (Don Giovanni), Dan Paul Dumitrescu (Der Komtur), Ekaterina Siurina (Donna Anna), Jinxu Xiahou (Don Ottavio), Annette Dasch (Donna Elvira), Luca Pisaroni (Leporello), Valentina Naforniţă (Zerlina), Clemens Unterreiner (Masetto). Conducted by Sascha Goetzel. Performance of January 20, 2018. Available for 72 hours (free registration required) | Details
Friday 22
Metropolitan Opera | Mozart’s Don Giovanni — 7:30 p.m. (ET). Joan Sutherland, James Morris, and Gabriel Bacquier, conducted by Richard Bonynge. From March 16, 1978. Available for 23 hours | Details
Vienna State Opera | Mozart’s Idomeneo. Bernard Richter (Idomeneo), Rachel Frenkel (Idamante), Irina Lungu (Elettra), Valentina Naforniţă (Ilia), Pavel Kolgatin (Arbace) Conductor: Tomáš Netopil. Performance of February 22, 2019. Available for 72 hours (free registration required) | Details
Saturday 23
Metropolitan Opera | Gounod’s Faust — 7:30 p.m. (ET). Marina Poplavskaya, Jonas Kaufmann, and René Pape, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. From December 10, 2011. Available for 23 hours | Details
Vienna State Opera | Strauss’Arabella. Wolfgang Bankl (Graf Waldner), Carole Wilson (Adelaide), Anne Schwanewilms (Arabella), Genia Kühmeier (Zdenka), Tomasz Konieczny (Mandryka), Daniela Fally (Die Fiakermilli). Conducted by Ulf Schirmer. Performance of December 18, 2014. Available for 72 hours (free registration required) | Details
Sunday 24
Metropolitan Opera | Massenet’s Manon — 7:30 p.m. (ET). Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczała, and Paulo Szot, conducted by Fabio Luisi. From April 7, 2012. Available for 23 hours | Details
Vienna State Opera | Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Jörg Schneider (Tamino), René Pape (Sarastro), Hila Fahima (Königin der Nacht), Olga Bezsmertna (Pamina), Ileana Tonca (Papagena), Thomas Tatzl (Papageno). Conducted by Adam Fischer. Performance of December 29, 2017. Available for 72 hours (free registration required) | Details
Additional interesting streams by other companies as well as by individual artists:
1) This Dutch National Opera’s rarity, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh by Rimsky-Korsakov, was streamed on May 15 on YouTube by Opera Vision, and will remain available for three months. Directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov and conducted by Marc Albrecht.
2) As part of NYPhil Plays On, the great cellist YoYo Ma plays Dvorak’s Cello Concerto, conducted by Kurt Ma. Upcoming real-time concerts (also available by video on demand later) include Daniil Trifonov playing his own Quintetto concertante, with the New York Philharmonic String Quartet (May 18 1 pm Eastern Time); and The Romantic Violin with Joshua Bell (May 21 7:30 pm), all available on YouTube and Facebook.
3) The two Screaming Divas, sopranos Sondra Radvanovsky and Keri Alkema are up to their diva shenanigans again, this time joined by mezzo Susan Graham. Remember to watch Part 2!
4) Under the auspices of Opera America, more than 100 opera singers unite in a song of hope and solidarity for a virtual performance of Light Shall Lift Us, a large ensemble work created by the Pulitzer Prize-winning team of composer Paul Moravec and librettist/lyricist Mark Campbell. You’ll recognize many familiar names and faces, with tenor Matthew Polenzani kicking off the proceedings.
#LUDWIGVAN
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